Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-<g data-gr-id="24">ocha</g> said today that he did not know whether China would hand over the suspect if or when he was arrested. Police have suggested a man carrying a Chinese passport in the name Abudureheman Abudusataer may have directed the bombing of the Erawan Shrine.
The man, also known by the nickname <g data-gr-id="21">Izan</g> or Ishan, reportedly left Thailand on August 16 for Bangladesh and then China.
However, police spokesman Prawut Thavornsiri quoted Bangladesh’s ambassador as saying that the suspect left Bangladesh on August 30 and was supposed to transit in Delhi on his way to China but never got to his final destination.
The envoy, Saida Muna Tasneem, told police that the suspect obtained a visa for Bangladesh in Bangkok.
Prawut said Thai authorities contacted their Bangladeshi counterparts on September 2, after the suspect <g data-gr-id="22">left,</g> but asked for information on his activities during his two weeks there.
Nazrul Islam, a police spokesman in Dhaka, gave a different timetable for the events, saying that Thai police passed along their information only this past Thursday. In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said China maintained close contacts with Thailand on the bombing investigation but gave no further detail.
Spokesmen for India’s External Affairs and Home ministries said they had no information about the suspect and had received no request for it from Thai authorities.